France to follow US out of Afghanistan

France is to follow the US in starting a gradual troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, Nicolas Sarkozy has announced, in a move that could boost his popularity before a 2012 election.

French President Nicolas SarkozyPhoto: AFP/GETTY

11:15AM BST 23 Jun 2011

Mr Sarkozy said troops sent for reinforcement would start returning in a time frame similar to the US force withdrawal. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the United States would pull out 33,000 troops by late 2012.

"Given the progress we have seen (in Afghanistan), France will begin a gradual withdrawal of reinforcement troops sent to Afghanistan, in a proportional manner and in a calendar comparable to the withdrawal of American reinforcements," Mr Sarkozy's office said after he spoke to Mr Obama by telephone.

France has about 4,000 troops in Afghanistan, and has seen 62 soldiers killed. It is due to start redeploying and handing over areas it controls to the Afghan military in 2011.

The office statement did not say how many troops would be moved initially, and Gerard Longuet, the defence minister, said details of the withdrawal would be kept quiet to avoid giving information to Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents.

"It will be significant for 2011 and, like the Americans, we will see this materialise in 2012," he told France Info radio.

French troops have been involved in the US- and Nato-led Afghanistan operation since 2001 and there is growing frustration in political circles with the long campaign.

Nearly 10 years after a Taliban government was toppled, foreign forces have been unable to deal a decisive blow to the resurgent Islamist militant group. The Afghan government remains weak and notoriously corrupt, and billions of dollars of foreign aid have yielded meagre results.

its Jean-Dominique Merchet, a French military analyst said Mr Sarkozy's announcement suggested France could see 400 soldiers brought home by the end of the year and 1,300 by late 2012.

Mr Sarkozy is expected to say in the last few weeks of 2011 that he will run for a second term in the April 2012 election.

His troops decision could be a boost to his chances in what looks set to be a tough battle for reelection against a resurgent left, with the far right also eating into his support.

Afghanistan's Taliban Thursday dismissed news of US troop withdrawals as mere symbolism, vowing to fight on, but President Hamid Karzai said the move hastened his nation's ability to fend for itself.

Ordinary Afghans seemed split over US President Barack Obama's announcement, after a decade of war, to pull tens of thousands of troops out of Afghanistan and concentrate on "nation-building" in America instead.

Some Afghans hoped it would reduce violence in a country battered by years of fighting, while others thought the move could plunge their nation into more chaos as foreign combat forces target a full withdrawal in 2014.

Mr Karzai described Obama's decision as "a good step in their favour and in favour of Afghanistan".

But the Taliban, whose insurgency has worsened steadily since the Islamist movement was ousted from power in late 2001, said the move was only "symbolic".